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Blood is an interesting movie. Not a particular great one, but hey, it's not half bad. It has some problems, but it also has a lot of bright points. I don't usually structure my reviews on here, but for this I decided to, so here's a list of pros and cons.

PROS:
-Beautiful animation. Seriously, for a anime movie from 2001, the art in this is gorgeous. It was like candy for my eyeballs, really.

-The sound design and music are both excellent. Honestly, this could pass as an art film, it looks and sounds artsy enough and it's vague enough to appeal to people who ... like their movies to be a little out there. If this were to come out today, people would eat it up just like they are Isle of Dogs, I guarantee it.

-Really awesome fight scenes. Saya proved herself to be a really capable fighter in the hour or so that we got to know her, and I was glued whenever she was fighting a Chiropteran (which for those who havent seen the movie are what the vampiric monsters she fights are called)

-Really interesting choices in script. See, instead of writing/filming the whole script in Japanese, they wrote it in English and made the main character bilingual, and even worked it into the story. The basic premise is that Saya is a vampire hunter, and she's assigned to investigate some murders at a high school located at an American military base in Japan where the teachers and staff are Japanese and the students are all American. Saya's handler, David, is also American, is so is pretty much every character other than Saya and the school nurse. It makes for a very interesting movie, and it definitely stands out from a lot of other anime films I've seen.

CONS:
-Way too short. Seriously, it kinda just feels like a really long short film. As a result, we don't get any sort of character development or anything of the like, and it's mostly just fight scene after fight scene with exposition dumps here and there. And even then, we really dont know much about the backstory. This movie raises way more questions than it answers, and this was made way before sequel-baiting was a thing.

-The plot is extremely thin. Seriously, it feels kinda like a short film or some kind of proof of concept someone would make to convince an executive to greenlight a full movie or tv show. It doesn't drag or anything, but that's the problem-the pacing is way too fast in my opinion, and the movie feels like its ramping up to something that we never really get to see.

-It's a little too light on the horror elements. We get a brief scene of some MP officer getting dragged up into a tree and eaten by one of the monsters, but other than that the movie never really gets all that scary. The only other unsettling scene in the movie is when Saya kills one the monsters in the nurse's office before she can transform, and that's just because at first you don't really realize what's going on and it looks like Saya just butchered this sick girl who didnt do anything wrong. Don't get me wrong, I like that scene because it establishes the monsters as calculating and cunning and it makes for a good shock factor, but I wish they had gone all in with the horror. This would honestly make an awesome horror movie.

Do I reccomend this movie? Definitely. It's got some problems, sure, but there's nothing in it that I would consider godawful, and it had me pretty much hooked for the entirety of its extremely brief runtime. It's a shame they never made a sequel, I would've LOVED to see a second movie that explores Saya's past. (I'm aware there are two anime based on the movie, Blood+ and Blood-C, but those are both spinoffs that take place in alternate universe. They're both really good-particularly the first one-but neither one really seemed to enrapture me like the movie did. They also did a really crappy live action version of the movie around 2011 or so, and I DEFINITELY don't reccomend it. I don't reccomend ANY live action anime movie, actually. They all suck.)

My, my, my...where to begin with this anime...

See, the thing is, I really liked it...when I first got into anime. See, I was really naïve back then. I hadn't watched a lot of anime, I didn't pay much attention to plot or characters, and I loved SAO from the moment I watched it based on the premise alone. Heck, I liked it so much I wrote an awful self-insert fanfiction sequel thing based on it. I LOVED this friggin anime.

...Then I grew up. And after (attempting to) rewatch this series several times...yeah, I don't know what I was smoking when I was younger, this show ... is god awful. I know the internet loves to hate on this show so I'm in no way treading new ground, here, but new people are getting into anime every day, so I owe it to them to inform them of how truly terrible this show is. If for whatever reason you are interested in watching this piece of crap anime, leave now, because I am going to *SPOIL THE EVERLIVING CRAP OUT OF IT. SERIOUSLY, THIS IS YOUR ONE AND ONLY SPOILER WARNING.*

First off, Kirito. Just, Kirito...seriously, what the frick is up with this character??? He is AWFUL!!! Literally just a Gary Stu with no real personality traits except that he's a loner. HE IS SOOOO ONE-DIMENSIONAL. He's basically just YOU. The viewer. Why'd they make their main character a blank slate with no real character depth, interesting backstory, or character traits? So YOU can pretend that YOU'RE the main character, instead, because all this anime is is WISH-FULFILLMENT. Seriously, it's a harem anime first and foremost, and I HAAAAAATE harem anime. They are DISGUSTING. ...Well, okay, not all of them are terrible, but I've only seen like, three or four that were any good, and I have yet to watch one that I've truly enjoyed. This one is one of the WORSER examples. EVERY GIRL IN THIS GIRL FALLS FOR KIRITO. EVERY. GIRL. EVEN HIS COUSIN. YES, HIS COUSIN. THIS SERIOUSLY HAPPENS. (see Fairy Incest Arc) I know it probably sounds like I'm exaggerating about how bad of a character he is, but I'm really not. He NEVER develops, ever. The only HINT of a character arc we really get for him is him joining a guild, quitting because of a traumatizing event, and then learning to be part of a team again. Does it work? NO!!! Why not? HERE'S WHY.

Okay, so the whole idea with the guild thing is that Kirito is a loner and doesn't like to play games with other people. This begs the question of why the frick he's playing an MMO, but whatever, he's a loner I guess. That's fine, I suppose. But the thing is, he joins the Guild after saving one of their members from dying...which he was only able to do because his level is so high. WHICH SHOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE BC PLAYERS IN GUILD ARE *ALWAYS* HIGHER LEVELS THAN PLAYERS WHO AREN'T, AND ANYONE WHO HAS EVER PLAYED AN MMO SHOULD KNOW THIS!!! LONE WOLVING IT IS *NOT* A GOOD STRATEGY IN AN MMO!!! But whatever, he's Mr. Super Gamer or whatever, so he's like level one hundred or some BS. They try to pass it off by saying that he was a beta tester for SAO so he knows things most new players wouldnt, but thats still horsecrap. How would he have made it far enough in the beta to know everything if he only played by himself? Whatever, I can get over it, I guess. What I CANNOT get over is that he doesnt tell them he's a higher level, because he doesnt want people to think he's a cheater...we'll come back to this in a second. Okay, so he joins the guild and becomes close friends with the girl he rescued, Sachi, who of course falls in love with him because...she has a vagina and it's SAO, so the plot dictates she loves him. I dont freaking know. Anyway, they do this raid on a dungeon or some crap, and they come into an empty room with a treasure chest...which Kirito knows is bobby-trapped bc he played the beta. Does he tell his new friends that he's a beta-tester and that the chest is rigged? NOPE. What does he do instead? HE LETS THEM OPEN THE CHEST, AND JUST STANDS THERE WHILE EVERY MEMBER OF HIS GUILD IS KILLED. PERMENANTLEY. Remember, SAO's big gimmick-you die ingame, YOU DIE IN REAL LIFE. Kirito...is a MURDERER. He withhold information that he knew dang well would save their lives...because he didn't want to admit he lied. WHEN HE DIDN'T NEED TO LIE IN THE FIRST PLACE!!! Anyway, he stands there and watches them get killed like a retard, and then somehow makes it out of there alive. Because of course he's does, it's Kirito. Who gives a crap if the room was boobytrapped and his guildmates werent able to teleport out. Does he defeat the monsters? I don't remember, but I'm pretty sure he doesnt, and if he did it happens offscreen. God this show sucks...anyway, he goes to tell the guild leader, who was the only one who didnt go on the raid...and he stands there and does NOTHING while said guild leader hops up onto a ledge. And then he just sits there crosseyed like a freaking retard as his only remaining friend COMMITS SUICIDE. KIRITO, YOU'RE OFFICIALLY THE WORST HUMAN BEING *EVER*.

They then try to do this really stupid filler episode where there's this bonus Christmas related item or some crap that can revive a dead player, and of course he wants to revive Sachi with it bc he liked Sachi I guess even though they shared like two scenes together and the only character traits she had were that she liked Kirito (which again, every woman in the show does) and she was kind of cowardly. I can see why he'd be interested. Anyway, he goes on a quest to find the item, only to discover that it can only revive a player within the first few minutes of them being dead, so he gives it to another guild or something, and this is supposed to make us feel SORRY for him. Um...no. I'd feel SORRY if he didn't stand there like a moron while all his friends were killed. I'd feel SORRY if he legitimately tried to get his guildmates out of there alive but wasn't able to. I'd feel SORRY if he didn't lie about his level, not tell his guildmates that he was a beta tester, and then stand by and say NOTHING while they walked into a death trap. I do not feel SORRY for Kirito...because HE killed them!!! THIS IS NOT HOW YOU DEVELOP A MAIN CHARACTER!!! WHO WROTE THIS??? IT COULD'VE BEEN FIXED SO EASILY!!! DO THEY NOT KNOW HOW TO *PROOFREAD*???

...God this show sucks. Anyway, after that the show meanders around in pointless filler for an eternity, and Kirito and this chick Asuna start falling in love because...the plot says so, idk. Like I said, every chick in the show has a thing for bland, generic Gary Stus, so it makes sense on her end, but Kirito doesnt really have a reason to like her, her only real character traits are that she has a maxed out cooking skill and they teamed up together during one of the first boss fights in the game. Oh, and she has boobs, I guess. This anime is somehow sexist against women AND men at the same time, how is that even possible??? Anyway. He ends up joining the guild, because he gets beat in a duel by the guild leader and that was the condition of the fight, even though Kirito couldve just backed down bc it was so obvious he was never gonna win, seriously why don't they read through these scripts once they finish writing them, and then we literally pause the story to show Kirito and Asuna getting married and adopting a glitch in the game that takes the form of a little girl. Said little girl is literally THE ONLY female in the entire series that doesnt want to jump Kirito's bones. Yay....she's still awful. She serves literally no purpose, she's just there. JUST LIKE KIRITO!!!

Anyway, I'm getting sick of typing this, so I'll skip ahead. Later on it's revealed that Heathcliff, the guy who leads the guild that Asuna and Kirito are a part of, is actually the creator of SAO, and he created the game bc...reasons, I guess. I don't know, and frankly, at this point I don't CARE, either. He also reveals that he's the final boss of the game, and that they have to beat him if they ever wanna escape the game. Yipee. Fast forward a bit more, they confront him in a final battle, during which Asuna is "tragically" killed...oh no. Not Asun-yeah, I seriously didn't even give a crap.

Kirito gets all mad, so he starts swinging at Heathcliff with the most pathetic sword swipes I have ever seen, and yet somehow he is able to kill him...at the cost of his own life, as well. (And NOTHING of value was lost.)

Kirito and Asuna wake up in heaven or some crap, they embrace and prepare to face death...only for Kirito to magically wake back up in the hospital. AND THEN THE REAL FUN BEGINS.

Okay, so if this anime wasn't bad enough already, then they go into the next story arc, which literally REMOVES THE ONE ASPECT OF THE SHOW I LIKED-SAO. Y'know, the virtual MMO where if you die in the game, you die in real life? All those stakes, all that potential, and they did NOTHING with it-and it doesn't even last longer than half a season!!! GAAAAAAAH!!!!!

Anyway, then the Fairy Incest Nonsensical Retard We Don't Know How To Write A Freaking Story arc begins. Kirito has returned to life as normal, but cant find Asuna. Someone sees a picture of her locked inside a cage in a new virtual MMO people are playing, so he buys the game and starts playing in order to rescue her...madness ensues.

...Y'know what, I don't even feel like finishing this review, the anime honestly doesn't deserve it, and I'm freaking tired. If you're young enough or naïve enough to watch this anime, then by all means, go ahead. If you like SAO, more power to you-but I hate it, and I think it is one of the worst anime ever made, if not THE worst. Definitely the worst one I've ever seen. Like I said, it's your life, you do what you want, but I would seriously advise AGAINST watching this show. If you wanna watch a good anime about people playing videogames in a virtual world, watch Accel World, or heck, even .hack. Do NOT watch this unless you're extremely bored, stupid, and/or drunk. That is all.

(*MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD*)

I'm...a little torn on this one. On one hand, I really enjoyed the characters in this show, and I enjoyed a lot of the humor...but on the other hand, the plot is pretty repetitive, and pretty much ALL of the conflict in this show feels forced bc the characters don't think of simple things like, idk, communicating?

Okay, so the main character is Keita Amano, a teenage gamer who doesn't have any friends and has a giant crush on Karen Tendou, the prettiest girl in school. Kind of generic, but hey, it's only episode one. Anyway, he's in this game store looking at ... games or whatever when Tendou approaches him and invites him to join the high school's gaming club. He considers accepting her offer, but ultimately turns her down bc he finds them to be a little too competitive, inadvertently hurting her feelings. She then falls for him after he defends her from someone who badmouths her. Keita quickly makes friends with another guy, Tasuku Uehara, who initially seems like your typical dumb cool guy character, but is actually revealed to be a former nerd who used to love gaming but chose to give it up in order to become popular. He's pretty likable too, and so is his girlfriend Aguri, a sort of ditzy cat-loving girl with pink hair who we later found out liked Tasuku even before he was "cool". Finally, we meet our fifth and final "main" character, and my favorite, Chiaki Hoshinomori. She's a aspiring indie game developer and social outcast who Keita befriends in order to practice talking to girls. (See, he wants to get closer to Tendou, but he sucks at talking to girls, so Tasuku suggests he befriend Chiaki in order to practice.) Unbeknownst to the two, they actually already know eachother-see, they both have this online friend they play games with, and it later turns out that Keita is Chiaki's online friend and vice-versa. Anyway, after we meet Chiaki is when things kinda go downhill.

See, this show is SUPPOSED to be about Gamers, right? Well, it's really not. Rather, it uses gaming as a sort of platform to carry a really generic, stupidly complicated love story that creates drama inorganically and frustrates the viewer. Don't get me wrong, it's kind of funny at first, and the characters are overall pretty likable...but they'd be more likable if they just TALKED more, instead of what they actually do, which is create misunderstanding on top of misunderstanding. The overarching plot of the show is that the five main characters form a sort of weird love pentagon, and they all incorrectly assume that the person they like actually likes this person or that person. (For example, Keita begins hanging out with Aguri a lot after Tasuku starts acting kinda weird, so Tasuku starts to suspect that Aguri is cheating on him with Keita and that Keita is therefore betraying him.) Like I said, it starts out funny, but the jokes gets old pretty fast. It's hard to get invested in this plotline when the characters never stop to ask the obvious questions, and when they do, the other characters make really dumb mistakes and explain their situation in a way that actually makes them look MORE guilty. What begins as a fun gag quickly devolves into a repetitive mess, and the characters seriously never learn to just sit down and confront eachother about their suspicions in order to sort things out. Again, I don't dislike these characters at all, but I'd like them a heck of a lot more if they would just make smarter choices, and if the writing wasn't so darn repetitive. And maybe it'd be better if it had more to do with gaming, too. I stand by what I said about gaming being more or less just a backdrop, the characters will occasionally throw some weird gaming lingo into their dialogue and videogames factor into the overall plot of one or two episodes, but for the most part, again, it's just kind of an afterthought. What it really feels like is that the guy who wrote the light novels this is based on came up with an idea for a romance story, but then he realized it was kinda generic so he decided to make the characters all gamers to try to help it stand out. Replace the gaming in the show with some kind of popular Japanese sport like baseball or soccer, and the show really wouldn't stand out at all, it'd just be another generic high school anime.

The best character in the show is by far Chiaki, I really enjoyed her character overall. She has this big subplot towards the end of the season where she finds out Keita is her secret e-friend or whatever, and she ends up falling for him. But he's already kinda with Tendou, so she tries to break them up only to selflessly decide to leave them be and hide her feelings for him in the end. I actually found this to be incredibly relatable, and it honestly frustrates me that Chiaki DIDN'T end up with Keita. Don't get me wrong, I like Tendou as a character, but she doesn't have that much chemistry with Amano imo. The only thing they really have in common in videogames, and the only reason Tendou even likes him is because he defended her once and she found it kinda charming. With Chiaki, they actually have a connection, and she likes him because of said connection and how he's always supported her in her endeavors as an aspiring developer, even if he didnt realize it was her the whole time. Honestly, even though I didnt enjoy this anime very much, I'm still really interesting in seeing if it gets a second season, just bc I wanna see Chiaki and Keita end up together. Like I said, I dont hate Karen as a character, but she's just not a good fit for Keita imo. She's be a much better fit with someone else, I think. As for Tasuku and Aguri, they're both pretty adorable together, I wouldnt pair them with anyone else.

Do I reccomend "Gamers!"? Yes and no. I'd reccomend it but only for the comedy and music. The actual plot is pretty infuriating, the whole "love pentagon" thing gets really stale by the end, and in the end I think the protagonist ends up with the wrong girl. Like I said, they could always fix that in a second season, but if the ending of the show is any indication this is a definitely one of those "read the manga/light novel endings" where the anime is more or less an advertisement and not a full adaptation, and even if there is a season two there's no guaruntee that they wont just keep Tendou and Amano together. I havent read the light novels since they havent translated them into English as far as I know, so I'm not sure whether they stay together or they go a different route.

I'm not the biggest fan of romantic comedy anime. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy them on occasion, but I never go OUT OF MY WAY to watch them when they come out, if you know what I mean. That being said, Toradora! is easily the best romcom anime ever made. At least in my opinion. Obviously it's subjective, but I freaking love this show, and I heartily recommend it to anyone who has yet to give it a watch.

For starters, it's one of the funniest shows I've ever seen, anime or otherwise. Sure, some of the humor leans a little towards the ecchi side, ... but most of the actual jokes in the show stem from the character's personalities and how they clash with eachother, so it feels organic. Plus, the characters ARE all teenagers, so whenever the show DOES make a joke that leans more towards the raunchy dirty side, it feels believable, because c'mon, they're in high school. Hormones be running wild, y'know?

Secondly, the characters in this show are sooo relatable, and the main romance feels genuine due to the gradual progression. The heartfelt scenes between all of the characters and the way their friendships and feelings develop and evolve over time helps add to this feeling, and it also makes each of our main cast incredibly relatable because, essentially, you're growing along with them. I might be biased bc I watched this series around the time I was finishing up high school, but I found the story to be really relatable and I loved almost every character in the show.

Lastly, I feel like touching on the English dub-namely, it's quality. It's a lot better than fans of the show say it is. Now, I might be a little biased bc I didnt watch Toradora! until AFTER it had been dubbed so naturally, the dub was what I watched first, but I thought the VAs in the English version really gave it their all, and there isn't a single character who I would call "miscast". I've seen TONS of people hating on the dub online, and I'm honestly kinda baffled. Again, I'm probably biased bc I watched it dubbed first, or maybe they're biased bc they watched it in Japanese originally. That last one's definitely possible, I mean it originally aired in like what, 2008, and the dub didnt materialize until around 2014, so that's entirely plausible. Idk. Anyway, don't write off the dub is what I'm saying. If you prefer subs that's fine, I understand, but the dub is not awful like most other fans claim. Trust me, as someone who prefers dubs over subs, I have heard dubs that are a thousand times worse than this is made out to be. (Sword Art Online or Attack on Titan, anyone?)

I know this manga was waaaay before my time, but I actually grew up with it and, believe it or not, I didn't know it was manga for the longest time. See, around the time I was in fourth or fifth grade, I went to the library, and one book in particular caught my attention. The first volume of Doraemon. I checked it out, read it, and loved it, and proceeded to check out a bunch of other volumes...that I then proceeded to forget to return and actually ended up keeping until I unfortunately lost them...oops. Anyway, earlier today I started to go back and ... reread it, and...I'm actually fairly surprised at how much I'm enjoying it, lol, it's pretty dang good!

I mean for starters, it takes place in the early 70s! I had NO IDEA it was set in the 70s as a kid! That just goes to show you how timeless this manga is, or at least it does imo. I mean, seriously, other than the fact that a lot of the character's names are pretty outdated, it's pretty timeless. It could take place anytime, really. Well, anytime before 2009, anyway. This might sound negative, but if there were to be a modern day retelling of Doraemon, all the characters would probably be sitting indoors texting or eating Tide Pods or something instead of playing outside and stuff, lol.

The overall premise is a little loose, but it's primarily a comedy series, so I think that's fine. From what I remember, we do get a few glimpses into Nobita's future in later chapters, so it's like it totally lacks in overarching plot. It's just pretty episodic in nature for the most part, which is fine, because again, comedy.

Anyway, I'm pretty much just rambling and going into pointless personal anecdotes at this point, so I'm just gonna wrap it up, here. Is this manga perfect? No. Is it fun? Absolutely, it is! Like I said, I THOROUGHLY enjoyed it as a child, and I wasn't even a fan of anime and manga back then. If you're a fan of light-hearted, slice of life stories with likable characters and a childlike sense of wonder and whimsy, definitely give it a read. While reading it as a child, I found it extremely relatable, and it got me through some hard times. Rereading it now as an adult, it gives me a lot of nostalgia, and not only reminds me of when I was a kid, but it takes me back to the time when I was first reading it, and when life was just simpler. Just read it, okay? You wont regret it. Don't let it's age or the simplicity of the premise stop you, just read it.

Okay, I'm of two minds when it comes to this series. For starters, FMAB has an OBJECTIVELY better ending than the 2003 adaptation-I mean, there's no arguing that the ending to 2003 SUCKED, you just can't do it. And FMAB is definitely prettier to look at and has awesome music and all this stuff, and of course, IT FOLLOWS THE MANGA (yes, I'm poking fun at you, manga-purists)...but that doesn't make it perfect, by any stretch of the imagination.

One of the things that I really didn't like about this anime was the pacing-at least, for the first twelve episodes or so. Maybe it's just because ... I watched the 2003 version first and literally started watching Brotherhood only a couple of days after finishing the first anime, but the first major story arc of this show felt SOOOO weird in terms of pacing. It literally felt like half of the first anime's plot condensed into a few episodes, and you might like that better, but for me, it didn't really work. The first set of episodes just felt really rushed imo, and even though the plot was fast, it didn't really pick up until later because it was just retreading the same ground that 2003 walked on. Once it gets to the introduction of Ling and a few other characters that weren't in the original anime, however, it definitely gets better and more watchable for fans of the 2003 version.

Another thing I don't like are the villains-for the most part. They're all pretty one-dimensional, cardboard cutout villains who are just evil for the sake of being evil...with two MAJOR exceptions. One thing that 2003 did better than Brotherhood (at least in my opinion) was making you CARE about the villains, to the point where you didn't want some of them to die. Brotherhood? Aside from the two exceptions I mentioned (which I won't name here in order to avoid spoilers), they didn't really accomplish that.

Now let's get onto what it did RIGHT, because remember-I still REALLY like this anime. (Though it will always be my 2ND favorite behind the original FMA) For starters, it handled the ending a lot better than the original adaptation, and, of course, it followed the manga, not that I really care. (That's NOT why I prefer Brotherhood's ending, btw. I just like that it's a lot more happy and satisfying than the ending to the original anime) It also had some really awesome fight scenes-like, no joke, they were amazing. It also had like, ZERO filler in my opinion, which cant be said for the 2003 version (which literally had an entire episode dedicated to showing us the collapse of a village caused by a deadly plague that had NOTHING to do with the actual story other than the fact that the main characters happened to be heading there to meet someone that didn't have an impact on the story anyway), so it definitely gets a thumbs up from me for that.

To sum things up, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is more Fullmetal Alchemist, and for that I love it. It retold the story, added fun characters from the manga that didn't make it into the 2003 version due to them not existing at the time, it had a better ending, and it put a new coat of paint on one of my favorite franchises. That being said, while I REALLY LOVE this show, I think it's INCREDIBLY overrated, and I heartily recommend that you watch the 2003 version BEFORE Brotherhood. If you watch Brotherhood first, you'll most likely be put off by the original version once you try to go back and watch it, and I personally believe that in order to fully enjoy Brotherhood, you need to have at least seen a significant portion of the original.

Fullmetal Alchemist is one of the very first anime I saw, after I was introduced to the medium through the first season of Attack on Titan back in 2013. (Or was it 2014? I don't remember...) I loved it.

Don't get me wrong-I know Brotherhood has a much better ending, and its definitely prettier to look at and it follows the manga and everything-but I don't care. I don't have anything AGAINST Brotherhood-but I've always liked the 2003 version better, and I always will. Why? Well, there are several reasons. For starters, I like the openings and endings in 2003 a lot more than the ones ... in Brotherhood (sorry YUI fanboys, "Again" is just alright, "Undo" is where it's at), and I've always preferred Aaron Dismuke's Alphonse voice to Maxey Whitehead's. (Maxey did a fine job in FMAB, but it just didnt feel the same imo.) I also really prefer Damien Clarke as Scar over J. Michael Tatum. Clarke's Scar is a lot cooler sounding and has a bit more of range of emotion to his voice, whenever he says something I immediately start to get excited. Tatum's Scar is a bit more generic gruff antihero, and while I do enjoy his voice in Brotherhood, I think his voice in the 2003 version was a little more unique and I'm honestly kinda sad they didn't bring him back. Heck, I would've liked to see him come back and voice somebody else in FMAB, maybe he could've played one of the new characters that didn't get adapted into the original anime bc the manga hadn't introduced them yet.

The biggest reason as to why I like the first adaptation better than the second are the characters, though-namely, the villains. I don't wanna go into any spoilers, but the villains in the 2003 version feel a lot more fleshed out, and they actually feel like characters. Like, living, breathing CHARACTERS, and ones you can actually kind of relate to and, in some cases, even feel SORRY for. Brotherhood doesn't really have that imo. Most of the villains in the second anime were really one-dimensional imo, and (aside from two very big exceptions I won't name here), they were all pretty flat.

My point is, while I like both series, 2003 is my favorite of the two, and I firmly stand by the fact that it is one of if not THE best anime ever made. If you havent watched it, watch it. If you have and you wrote it off because it doesnt follow the manga beat for beat, watch it again. Trust me, this show is SOOOO much more than just an adaptation. It actually took the manga and made something unique that I believe stands on its own, and it's very enjoyable. (Just make sure to watch the Conqueror of Shamballa Movie once you're done. That'll definitely help take the sour taste of the original ending out of your mouth.)